Mary welcomed me as a friend. She also previously wrote a Bible study lesson on the Book o

Friend: Mary says that ... "Ruth means friend or companion." Ruth was a loyal friend and companion to Naomi during some very difficult situations.

How do we deal with difficult situations? Mary says ... "how we deal with difficult situations depends on how we see God in those situations."

How do we see Jesus in difficult situations? Mary says ... "Jesus Christ wants to redeem us for Himself." Are we seeing Jesus lately and often so he can redeem us for Himself??

Do we need to be redeemed from difficult situations? Mary says ... "Ruth didn’t have the right ancestry, position and purity that most people would have expected Boaz to desire. Ruth was not Jewish. She was a stranger or foreigner. Ruth wasn’t a virgin, but a widow. Ruth was not wealthy and was less than a servant girl." Oh my, do we have difficult situations? Do we need redemption big time? Is Jesus our Redeemer, each day, in our difficult situations?

Do we need to be desired and loved? Mary says ... "Despite all of this, Boaz loved her ." Despite our difficult situations, God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit loved and loves us.

What does Jesus want from us: Mary says that ... "The purpose ... of Ruth is to show the love and faithfulness that God wants from us." First God wants us, for his very own, so he loved us first, to get us, as his very own, while we were UN-redeemed miserable sinners. Then we were to begin a life time of living in our redeemed relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, with a new spiritual ... "noble character and ... heart, in Mary"s words, describing Ruth."

How can we show our love and faithfulness to Jesus that he wants from us? Since he became our friend first, we can become his loyal friend, based upon his terms, listed in his Word, the Bible. Part of being a friend to Jesus, is being a friend to people, who need Jesus, as their Friend, Savior and Lord.

Mary knew very little about me, but she stepped into the unknown realm by faith, to accept me as a friend. Accepting a friend could be like opening a box of chocolates and experiencing the mysterious contents, hidden beneath the coating. Sometimes the coating looks gross, sometimes marvelous. The contents are most always a devastating disappointment, and rarely an exorbitant delight. People at times, can be less than desirable, both with their coatings and their contents. People are broken, lost, in debt to sin, and down right obnoxious at times.

When I was in Jr. High School and younger, I often tormented and pestered my older brothers and sisters. At least once, they called me obnoxious and maybe other names, at other times, that I likely well deserved. They still loved me, and I loved them, and we all turned out to at least be tolerable. We as people do not know what to expect in the realm of the unknown. The unknown can be a difficult situation in which to deal. Being a friend, to someone, whose coatings and contents are not always known, agreeable, and taste worthy can be an ongoing difficult situation.

Mary says ... "how we deal with difficult situations depends on how we see God in those situations." If we see Jesus, as our Redeemer, and we know that our Redeemer lives in us, then we can set aside our own gift of obnoxiousness, and in love and faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ, be a loyal friend to Jesus, a loyal friend to our obnoxious friends and bring redemption through our friendships and lay them down at the feet of Jesus, as a holy sacrifice. What a friend we have in Jesus!

This article written by Jerry - B. A. Friend , was based upon an article by Mary Osbon.

Mary's Lesson Quotes from: The Book of Ruth Chapter 1 - Part 1 C.L.M.N. by Mary Osbon on April 27, 2019